As of: March 13, 2024, 9:07 a.m
By: Josef Hornsteiner
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Drastic warning: This sign is currently agitating people in Wallgau.
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Horrified holidaymakers point out a drastic warning sign on a property in Wallgau.
The owner threatens to shoot dogs that defecate on his property.
The public prosecutor's office is now examining the case.
Wallgau – People often refer to a dog pile as a “mine”.
And many people get annoyed when pet owners don't manage to take away and dispose of their four-legged friend's remains.
A man from Wallgau is now so desperate about the amount of poop piles on his property that he has resorted to a drastic measure - he openly threatens with a sign that he will shoot any dog that makes a poop on his property.
A retired couple from the Rhineland were horrified to discover the note while hiking.
Both of them now wrote a letter to the police, district office and the press.
During a hike to the Maxhütte, they noticed the paper in cling film on a property in Wallgau near the forest.
“That made us very angry, even outraged.” The couple wonders how one can threaten to use firearms, “especially in view of current world events?” They don’t have dogs themselves and would “of course also be concerned about legacies “Annoy our property.”
But not in this “aggressive form”.
A standard sign that says “There is no dog toilet or anything like that here or a few meters of fence should be enough,” the couple says in the letter.
That's not funny.
“In order not to come under fire, we would prefer to remain anonymous,” they write.
“And will probably prefer to avoid the Wallgau area in the future.”
Serious danger to dogs or just an empty threat?
The public prosecutor's office is currently examining this
Is the paper in cling film a serious danger to the dog and owner or just an empty threat to keep feces off the property?
In any case, the police are taking the case seriously and have sent it to the public prosecutor's office for review, explains spokesman Paul Klette from the Garmisch-Partenkirchen police station.
The lawyers will soon decide how to proceed.
The question now arises as to whether the property owner in question is legally armed.
However, since the threat is “only” directed against dogs and not against people, the police cannot intervene immediately.
However, if she were to start an investigation on the orders of the public prosecutor, the district office would also be involved as a weapons authority, says authority spokesman Stephan Scharf.
“Until then we’re out of it.”
Weeks ago, other holidaymakers from Mittenwald pointed out the sign in the town hall.
Mayor Bastian Eiter has informed his building yard that they should investigate the matter.
The municipality employees not only found the sign, but also the owner.
“He didn’t know what else to do,” says Eiter.
He doesn't want to take the sign down.
“There are simply some black sheep among dog owners who don’t clean up their four-legged friends’ mess.” But as complaints about the brutal threat are piling up, the municipality is also currently considering legal action.
Because simply shooting a dog like that is of course not allowed.
According to the hunting law, only hunters are allowed to do this if free-roaming four-legged friends are caught poaching, says Ann-Kathrin Fries, a lawyer specializing in animal law.
“But only as a last resort, outside of built-up areas and peaceful properties.” Police officers are also allowed to use weapons if there is imminent danger, i.e. if the dog attacks someone.
An animal defecating must not become a target - even if the property owner is a police officer or hunter.